The Hosts of Flip or Flop Fort Worth Want to Keep Hiring Veterans Like Them

Andy and Ashley Williams are the newest additions to the HGTV family, with their show, Flip or Flop Fort Worth, premiering November 2. They're the latest in a string of Flip or Flop spinoffs from the network, set in locations like Las Vegas, Atlanta, and now, Texas. In an interview with GoodHousekeeping.com, the couple says they have one specific mission with their new show: to promote the work of veterans like them.

Andy and Ashley are both veterans; Andy served in the Marines, while Ashley was in the Army. The two met while in Baghdad, Iraq, while Ashley was on active duty, working in an emergency room, and Andy was in a contract position at the time. As Ashley recalls, they met at the gym, while she was training to take a physical fitness test. "I was sitting on the leg machine and Andy came up to me and said, 'Hey, do you need a personal trainer?' I was like, 'Uh, no!'" Ashley says.

A post shared by Ashley and Andy (@ashleyandandy_ft) on Oct 16, 2017 at 9:05am PDT

Before the two started dating, Andy had begun investing in rental properties back in the States. And once they got serious, Ashley started to get involved in the planning process. By the time they both came back from Iraq in 2012, they made a promise to one another: they would put down roots and not return to active duty. "[Ashley] made it a point, she drew the line, that once we came home, I couldn't go back [overseas]," Andy says. "When we started a family, when we started having kids, she wanted me to be there. That was the big thing. She wanted me to be there to raise a family and have a family home together."

A post shared by Ashley and Andy (@ashleyandandy_ft) on Oct 12, 2017 at 11:59am PDT

When she came back to the U.S, Ashley first tried to find a job, since she has a degree in healthcare administration. But she had trouble showing how her work in the military would translate in the civilian world. When she finally found employment, in a hospital, her military communication style didn't mesh well with her colleagues. "I had an issue transitioning," she said. "I was told on my first counseling statement that I was too intense, which was strange to me."

A post shared by Ashley and Andy (@ashleyandandy_ft) on Oct 3, 2017 at 3:45pm PDT

Andy and Ashley both found the real estate world was a better way to transition. "It really didn't depend on if I fit in with their culture. None of that depended on it. It only depended on my work ethic," Ashley says. "And, a lot of the time, that's all the military personnel have, is the work ethic."

They dove into the real estate business, at first investing in affordable housing and secondary markets, and slowly getting more successful as time went on. (Not that it's all been fun: In one house, they tore down a wall to reveal a beehive and had to run out to avoid the swarm.) Now, they make it a point to hire fellow veterans throughout the process, and feature one veteran, a landscaper, in the show's first season.

HGTV

"I served in the Marines, and in the Marine Corps we have an ethos," Andy says. "When you go into the Marines you're always a Marine, and when you get out, you just continue to serve, and you try to go back into society and add value." So from financing to sales to construction, Ashley and Andy look for veterans to collaborate with in every micro-industry inside real estate. That way, they can lend a hand to other veterans who might be having a hard time reintegrating into civilian life. "This landscaper who was in Season 1, I promise you he'll probably be flipping a house in maybe a year and a half because he's already showing interest," Andy predicts. "And that's kind of why we do it. We want them to learn from our path and then realize that's a viable process."

A post shared by Ashley and Andy (@ashleyandandy_ft) on Oct 10, 2017 at 8:01am PDT

With Flip or Flop Fort Worth, Andy and Ashley are hoping to give more visibility to veterans — and are preparing themselves, and their two children, for the fame that comes with an HGTV show. "Ashley and I lived in some of the worst situations ever. We lived in Baghdad for six years. We lived in a construction trailer, a close environment," Andy says. "So we're not letting anything get to our heads. We're simple people on a simple mission, trying to solve a simple problem. We're just simple Americans trying to raise their family."

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